Kamate

 

The fishing harbours at Kamate are located in a small bay that is divided by a small island that is now connected to the land.

Coming up the coast from the southwest, the first part of the bay has what looks to be the original little harbour.

There is a small shrine here, though not marked on the maps and with no signboard.

My guess would be an Ebisu Shrine....

At the mouth of the little harbour are a few groups of rocks with form two tiny islands.

These are the islands mentioned in Kushirogahime Shrine that I visited the day before.

They are where the male-female pair of kami sometimes meet....

The tiny harbour has been reinforced with plenty of tetrapods.....

The other side of the bay has now been turned into a large harbour by the construction of four huge concrete piers and breakwaters...

On a day like today,... cloudless and windless, the water inside the harbour is as flat as a mirror...

The island that is now connected to the land has a big shrine on top, but on this trip, I didn't climb up to visit.

The previous post in this series on day 34 of my Chugoku walk was on the walk here from Tsuda.

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Namba Hips to Namba Parks

 

Continuing with my architectural tour of the Namba district of Osaka, I headed from Namba Hips towards Namba Parks.

Above is the Osaka Shinkabukiza Theatre. It moved in 2010, several years after this photo, to a new location and building, but this, now almost 70 year old building has been preserved as a facade on a new high-rise, steel and glass hotel.

As for the other buildings featured in this post, I don't know what they are....

I have lived in cities, but not for a long time, and so they seem to be exotic places filled with marvellous sights and strange people....

The previous post in this series was on the unusual Namba Hips by Shin Takamatsu.

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Tsuda to Kamate

 

Day 34 of my walk along the Chugoku Kannon Pilgrimage began where I ended day 33, the little fishing village of Tsuda.

These first three photos are from the train as it approached Iwami Tsuda Station from Hamada, not long after sunrise.

From the station I take the short walk directly to the long beach frontage.

As with many rivers I cross in Iwami, the river itself mostly soaks into the sandy beach, and just a narrow stream makes it to the sea.

On the other side of the Tsuda River is an intriguing old mansion house with a most impressive gate.

The whole compound is enclosed in very high exterior walls. Never have been able to find out who it belongs to, but obviously a former dignitary...

After passing the very tiny fishing harbour at Tsuda, the coast road passes a tiny inlet with beach.

The next river is the Okita River, and here I pass a small boat engaged in some kind of fishing.

But there is still no harbour of any size....

After crossing the Okita River.... which contradicts my earlier observation about rivers, I pass another small headland before reaching the edge of Kamate....

The previous post was on the shrine I visited at the end of yesterday's walk.

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Hachiman Shrine & Makio Shrine in Yasaka

 

Day 9 of my walk along the Iwami Kannon Pilgrimage and during the morning I stop in at two noteworthy shrines.

Iwami is a remote region, and the area in the mountains now collectively grouped together as Yasaka Town is a remote part of that region. Though I have lived here for decades, this was an exploration for me...

The first shrine I reached was the Hachimangu in the area called Nakayasu after thebfamily that were installed in the area as local  administrators in the mid 14th century.

They served under various different lords until the mid 16th century when the Mori attacked and defeated them, then took over.

This Hachimangu was established as a branch of Usa Hachiman in the mid 15th century to protect the nearby castle. It became the tutelary shrine for ten villages in the area.

There are a pair of huge Sugi trees flanking the stairway, and a third up near the shrine buildings.

They are big enough to be protected and registered as Natural Monunments by the prefecture.

An older Tenmangu shrine was moved into the grounds in early Meiji.

With its Ryobu-style Torii, Makio Shrine, much further south, is quite picturesque. (top photo above)

Said to be founded in the early Heian Period, making it about a thousand years old, it was relocated to its current location in 1582.

 

Unusual is the combination of main kami, Izanagi, and Otoshi. Izanagi, well known as the male of the creator-kami pair with his sister/wife Izanami. Otoshi, one of Susano's sons, with association with rice harvest and Korean clans.

There is a kagura den, but it looks like it has not been used in a while....

The previous post was on the last temple I visited yesterday, and the place I stayed the night.

If you would like to subscribe by email just leave your email address in the comments below. It will not be published and made public. I post new content almost everyday, and send out an email about twice a month with short descriptions and links to the last ten posts.